1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety belts for use with children in connection with car seats, strollers, shopping carts, etc. The child safety belt buckle locking mechanism has particular utility in connection with preventing a baby from accidentally unlocking his/her seat belt and thereby creating a safety hazard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
We are all sensitive to the fact that babies need to be buckled up when riding or otherwise sitting in a car seat, stroller, shopping cart, or the like to avoid possible serious injury. However, even small babies can sometimes find a way to operate seemingly complicated devices for them, such as unlatching their seat belt. It would be desirable to have a child""s seat belt buckle locking mechanism that would be practically impossible for a baby to unlatch, while at the same time is quick and easy for an adult to operate.
The use of seatbelt locking mechanisms is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,892 to Todd discloses a child safety apparatus for a seat belt buckle, which has a pushbutton interlock mechanism that when activated, prevents the seatbelt""s main release button from being released. However, although the Todd ""892 patent has a similar function, the structure is different from that of the present invention and does not require two-hand operation, as does the present invention, thereby making it very difficult for a small child to operate the mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,908 to Gloomis et al. discloses a lock for seat belt buckle that has a slidable locking member that can be manually moved to a locking position to block the depression of the main seatbelt release button. However, although the Gloomis ""908 patent has a similar function, the structure is different from that of the present invention and it does not require two-hand operation, as does the present invention, thereby making it very difficult for a small child to operate the mechanism.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,376 to Hunter et al. discloses a child-resistant safety belt buckle that uses a spring-loaded rotatable or pushbutton member mounted on the top skirt of the buckle to prevent the release of the belt mechanism. However, although the Hunter ""376 patent has a similar function, the structure is different from that of the present invention, which requires that two spring loaded buttons be pressed and held in with one hand while the main release button is pressed.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,442,840 to Ewald, 4,624,033 to Orton, and D359,709 to Miller disclose apparatus that may be of general interest and pertinent to the construction and design of the present invention. The Ewald ""840 and Orton ""033 patents disclose a sheath and housing, respectively, that slides over the buckle to prevent a child from pressing the belt""s main release button. Finally, the Miller ""709 design patent discloses the design for a childproof seatbelt lock. However, all of these patents disclose apparatus that is different in structure from that of the present invention and none of them requires two-hand operation, as does the present invention, thereby making it very difficult for a small child to operate the mechanism.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that has the structure of the present invention and requires two-hand operation, as does the present invention, thereby making it very difficult for a small child to operate the mechanism.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved seatbelt buckle safety device that can be easily operated by an adult, but is practically impossible for small child or baby to operate. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the child safety belt buckle locking mechanism according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of preventing a small child from accidentally unlatching a seat belt buckle.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of child seatbelt safety devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved child safety belt buckle locking mechanism, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved child safety belt buckle locking mechanism and method which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
The safety belt buckle locking mechanism of the present invention is easy for an adult, but very difficult for a baby, to operate. The mechanism can be used with any safety belt arrangement, whether manufactured on a product or retrofitted on existing products.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a receiving buckle and an insertion buckle, with two spring-loaded safety locking bars and side-pins, one extending from each side of the insertion buckle. The receiving buckle has an internal spring-action latch rotatively attached to pivot pin and a spring-loaded main belt release button extending from the top of the buckle. The insertion buckle has a rectangular latching hole, which the receiving buckle""s latch snaps into when the two buckles are coupled together. When the belt release button is pressed downward, the spring-action latch is rotated upward out of the mating latching hole, thereby releasing the buckles. However, to make it difficult for a small child to unlatch the belts, the present invention uses the two spring-loaded safety locking bars attached to side-pins, which are normally positioned directly below the rim on each side of the main belt release button, so that the main belt release button cannot be depressed until the two spring-loaded safety locking bars are simultaneously push inward, out from under the release button rim, by means of the locking side-pins.
Operation of the mechanism typically requires the use of both hands, one hand to hold the two locking side-pins in so as to move the attached safety locking bars out of the way, and the other hand to push the main belt release button to unlatch the buckles. As soon as the locking side-pins are released, compressed spring action returns them to their normal locking positions, thereby again making it impossible to press the release button. Since this action requires that two spring-loaded side pins be pressed in and held simultaneously while the main belt release button is pressed, it would be extremely difficult for a baby or small child to accomplish this task, although it is quick and easy for an adult to operate.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is an even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such devices economically available to the buying public.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved child safety belt buckle locking mechanism that can be included in production units or provided as an after market product.